Broken thumb and all, Josh Freeman still working

Injured quarterback Josh Freeman is still hunkered down at One Buc Place preparing for his next game.

He won't play Saturday against Jacksonville nor will be play at Houston next week in the preseason finale, but coach Raheem Morris emphasized today that Freeman is using his down time for intense prep for the season opener against Cleveland.

"He gets a chance to get a jump on watching some Browns film, and watching what they’re doing in the preseason," Morris said. "We know they’re going to do more – (coordinator) Rob Ryan has been calling defense for a long time. And when he gets young quarterbacks, you know what he likes to do. He likes to come get them. There’s no doubt about that.

"So, you’ve got to go back and take a look at what he’s done and his history in the game. Our coaches have been able to feed (Freeman) small bits of information that they’ve been able to gather throughtout the offseason so he can catch up and get going. He’s not getting ready for Jacksonville. He’s not in that mode. He’s getting ready for Cleveland and his next opportunity to go out and play so he can be mentally sharp when it’s time. He’ll get physically sharp when he can. "

That process hasn't started just yet. Freeman won't resume throwing for some time to allow the thumb to begin healing. As a result, Morris said he has practically had to forbid Freeman from being on the field during practice for fear that he'll want to participate.

"Free is a very conscientious young man," Morris said. "He wants to come out to practice and I kick him out because I know he can’t be on the practice field without picking up a football and throwing it. Kellen (Winslow) might talk him into going over and running routes against air with a broken thumb. And I don’t want that.

"You want those types of guys in your building. But at the same time, as the guy in charge, and the guy whose got to be responsible for these guys . . . you have to protect themselves a little bit. So, to protect them from themselves, you keep them occupied with other things."

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